Academic literature on the topic 'Curriculum change Victoria'

Climate change (CC) is widely accepted as the major threat of our time, posing unprecedented challenges to humanity. Yet very little is known regarding the ways in which upper-secondary curricula address the need to educate about this crisis. This study contributes to the field of CC education theoretically and empirically. From the theoretical perspective, the study contributes two CC conceptualisation frameworks: a characterisation of the nature of CC, and a mapping of the scope of CC content knowledge. The empirical contribution consists of examining CC education implementation within upper-secondary curriculum in the state of Victoria, Australia. Specifically we examined the CC conceptualisation and the scope of content present in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) study designs. A total of 10 out of 94 study designs qualified for examination through referencing CC. The findings suggest that none of the study designs present a complete conceptualisation of the nature of CC. Common conceptualisations within the study designs perceive CC as a cause or an outcome, a problem of management, or of technological efficiency. CC content within the study designs is limited, and presents misconceptions, including the assumption that CC is a natural change caused by astronomical and solar systems. A cross-curriculum integration approach within the study designs is found to be ineffective. We conclude that CC presents a paradigm shift which brings about the new discipline of CC. There is a need for curricula reforms to address and incorporate CC as a coherent body of knowledge.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to explore the potential implications of the Nurses Act introduced in 1993 upon psychiatric nursing in Victoria. Essentially this Act abolished the existing separate undergraduate education for psychiatric nursing. The focus of this paper is to explore the potential implications of this legislative change to the psychiatric nursing profession, particularly in light of relevant research findings. Method: In order to ascertain the impact of legislative change, a survey of psychiatric nursing content was conducted in Schools of Nursing throughout Victoria. Results: A 100% response rate was achieved. The responses indicated that little alteration had been made to existing general nursing courses to incorporate the change in legislation. The compulsory psychiatric nursing content varies from nil to 17.4% of the total curriculum. Conclusions: The theory and practice of psychiatric nursing constitute only a small proportion of undergraduate curricula. In view of the comparative unpopularity of psychiatric nursing as a career option for undergraduate students, the implications of this situation for the future psychiatric nursing workforce are serious.

This article investigates the evolving conceptions of national identity in Canada and Australia through an analysis of officially sanctioned history textbooks in Ontario, Canada and Victoria, Australia. From the 1930s until the 1950s, Britain and the British Empire served a pivotal role in history textbooks and curricula in both territories. Textbooks generally held that British and imperial history were crucial to the Canadian and Australian national identity. Following the Second World War, textbooks in both Ontario and Victoria began to recognize Britain’s loss of power, and how this changed Australian and Canadian participation in the British Empire/Commonwealth. But rather than advocate for a complete withdrawal from engagement with Britain, authors emphasized the continuing importance of the example of the British Empire and Commonwealth to world affairs. In fact, participation in the Commonwealth was often described as of even more importance as the Dominions could take a more prominent place in imperial affairs. By the 1960s, however, textbook authors in Ontario and Victoria began to change their narratives, de-emphasizing the importance of the British Empire to the Canadian and Australian identity. Crucially, by the late 1960s the new narratives Ontarians and Victorians constructed claimed that the British Empire and national identity were no longer significantly linked. An investigation into these narratives of history will provide a unique window into officially acceptable views on imperialism before and during the era of decolonization.

AbstractA historical examination of a nursing curriculum is a bridge between past and present from which insights to guide curriculum development can be gleaned. In this paper, we use the case study method to examine how the University of Victoria School of Nursing (UVic SON), which was heavily influenced by the ideology of second wave feminism, contributed to a change in the direction of nursing education from task-orientation to a content and process orientation. This case study, informed by a feminist lens, enabled us to critically examine the introduction of a “revolutionary” caring curriculum at the UVic SON. Our research demonstrates the fault lines and current debates within which a feminist informed curriculum continues to struggle for legitimacy and cohesion. More work is needed to illuminate the historical basis of these debates and to understand more fully the complex landscape that has constructed the social and historical position of women and nursing in Canadian society today.

Abstract This study looks at the Chinese-learning experiences of six classroom learners who continued to the end of secondary school in Victoria, Australia, through in-depth interviews. Various systemic deterrents to continued Chinese language study are identified by the participants, including: (1) the schooling journey, including transition between primary and high school and disruption from uninterested students in compulsory classes; (2) the curriculum and the learning demands dictated by the form of assessment; (3) the risk of poor assessment results prejudicing post-school study options, in particular because the cohort includes large numbers of home speaker learners. In Victoria, Australia, a large part of what schools provide is dictated by the metasystem of education and the assessments at which it aims. Thus the structural deterrents to Chinese classroom learner continuation identified are within the power of government agencies to change, in order to enable more of these students to continue.

Abstract:The graduates and students of the School of Health Information Science (HIS) at the University of Victoria (UVic) have pioneered the Canadian sphere in health informatics since 1982. After six years of growth this co-operative education program has matured and establishment of a research base and graduate school has become a recent focus. In this context an evaluation of the HIS curriculum and co-op work experience from the student perspective was undertaken. Eighty-five persons, including 50 upper level students were surveyed. Thirty-five graduates were tracked and queried regarding their present employment, job satisfaction, future goals and perception oftheir professional status. In particular, students were queried on the retrospective value and/or shortcomings of the HIS co-op program. Their perceptions on the training that they have had or that they observe as leading to successful careers is documented. The student view on the ascribed role of ´change agent´ and concerns regarding the lack of professional identity are noted. The implications ofthese findings on the future form ofthe Health Information Science curriculum and the direction of its educational model are subsequently discussed.

Change is not a new concept in the Australian early childhood sector. However, the rate of change has significantly increased throughout the last decade, specifically with the introduction of the curriculum and quality frameworks, changes to regulations, and subsequent reviews (some particularly affecting the Victorian long day care sector). The rapid timeline of these reforms created challenges for early childhood professionals who needed to understand, interpret and translate multiple changes to their practice. This paper presents some key findings from a poststructural study involving 11 participants from the Victorian long day care sector. Foucauldian Discourse Analysis has been applied to explore how reform discourses shape and reshape the positioning and engagement of professionals within the reform process. These findings reveal how specific subject positions and discursive practices within available discourses of knowledge, teacher education and workplace can either challenge and/or support early childhood professionals in their ability to engage in reform.

This article argues that current socio-educational theorizing licenses a further restriction of opportunities for socially significant educational interventions. Recent major reports on education in South Australia identify technological change as decisive. Moreover, their emphasis upon its supposedly abstract character leads to a narrowly technocratic assessment of its ‘increasing complexities’ and ‘more pervasive influence’. This leads to a push to re-centralize curricular control, notably in those high-status areas nominated as necessary for national scientific and economic development. My analysis also reveals that this official sponsorship of tighter central (i.e. departmental) controls has a strong politico-economic basis because ‘necessary efficiencies' are emphasized at this time of increasing fiscal difficulties. Furthermore, I document the existence of a more narrowly technical emphasis in teacher education, and contend that this will increasingly foster a ‘silent’ acceptance of departmental control of the curriculum by teachers-to-be. I cite recent empirical evidence on teaching practices and attitudes in Australian schools to indicate that the re-centralization of curricular control would formalize—and, of course, extend—what is already the case. Furthermore, I demonstrate the general significance of these basic assumptions about the curriculum and its practices through an analysis of their probable impact upon typical conditions of teaching and upon ‘progressive’ policy initiatives (notably the Victorian Ministerial Papers). I examine at length the broader socio-cultural implications of centralist and technicist curricular assumptions. I conclude by outlining oppositional strategies: these are characterized by broadly based socio-educational interventions and an alternative formulation of what constitutes ‘really useful knowledge’ in ‘an advanced technological society’.

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) introduced the use of Computer Algebra System (CAS) technology (calculator and software) into the senior secondary mathematics curriculum and examination assessment in three phases, starting with a research-based pilot from 2000, followed by parallel implementation of CAS and non-CAS subjects from 2006 and culminating in transition to CAS-assumed subjects in 2010. This paper reports reflections on these developments over two decades from the perspectives of a researcher and the state mathematics manager (the authors) in consultation with four implementing teachers (the consultants). The authors critically examined the strategic design decisions that were made for the initiative over time. Then, with contributions from the four consultants, technical design issues relating to assessment and to teaching and the changes over a decade were investigated. A range of modifications have been made over the two decades, driven by changes in device capability and progressively increasing teaching expertise. The place of CAS in senior mathematics is now widely accepted, partly because an examination component not allowing any technology has been implemented. Examination questions have become more general, which may have added difficulty, but more questions involve setting up a real situation mathematically.

The unseen translation - translation of a passage of Latin that the student has not seen before, under constraints of time and with limited access to resources - is a persistent element of Latin courses, especially at school level. It is present in A Level courses in England (for example, OCR 2017), in the Scottish Highers (SQA, 2017), in the New Zealand curriculum (NZQA, 2017), and in Australia (VCAA, 2004; Board of Studies, 2009), to name but a few examples. In Victoria, courses have undergone various changes in the last 30 years, but the unseen has remained a constant: there seems to be a consensus among teachers and examiners that the ability to translate a passage of Latin on the spot is a rigorous and enduring test of at least one aspect of a student's skills in Latin.

This study focused on the intended learning outcomes, curriculum and assessment in the science curriculum offered at a regional independent Middle School in the state of Victoria, Australia. In-school assessment has indicated that the current science curriculum of this Middle School may not develop students' skills in scientific literacy as effectively as intended. One hypothesis to explain this deficit is that there is a misalignment of intended outcomes, curriculum materials and assessment. This study aimed to determine the extent to which the intended curriculum and assessment in this Victorian middle years' science program is aligned to its stated goals and objectives and to design, implement and evaluate a model for assessing the degree of alignment of intended outcomes, curriculum and assessment. Participants in the study were asked to analyse curriculum materials and assessment tasks from two different science courses at the case study school. These curriculum materials and assessments were scored against a series of instruments adapted from curriculum evaluation models used in previous research. The reviewers scored the material to determine the degree of alignment between the intended outcomes, curriculum materials and assessment tasks. The data provided an insight into both the degree of alignment of the curriculum as well as the features of strongly aligned curriculum materials. The effectiveness of the evaluation model was determined by analysis of the scoring data and semi-structured interviews with the participants. The current investigation established that the case study Middle School science program had some degree of alignment, but there were a number of materials and tasks which were not adequately aligned. The features of the curriculum materials and assessment tasks generally matched those identified in the literature, and provided the basis for potential reform to increase the degree of alignment in intended curriculum and assessment in science courses designed to address scientific literacy. The study also demonstrated that the model of curriculum evaluation was effective in establishing the alignment of curriculum materials and assessment with intended goals, particularly when enacted by teachers and administrators within the school context who had been trained. The curriculum analysis can highlight areas of the science curriculum which are not aligned and hence focus curriculum reform efforts.

This study contributes to the understanding of the pedagogical choice of secondary school middle years teachers. The findings support the past research which has reported adolescents having specific pedagogical needs and the difficulty schools have in changing established teaching and learning practices to meet those needs. Exploration of social processes and structural influences from this study reveal previously unacknowledged elements. These elements illuminate the enabling and inhibiting factors of pedagogical change and point to the school structures which can be developed to support successful change processes.

Fundamental educational change is necessarily an outcome of authentic participation confirmed in community struggle against defined forms of oppression: this is the proposition explored in the course of the three case study experiences presented here. Similarly, the contexts, conditions and terms of participation are considered with regard to defining the character of authentic 'political' success.

Climate change (CC) is currently considered to be the most systemic threat to life on Earth. Education plays a critical role in the global CC response. The importance of CC education has been reiterated in most CC international conventions, including Article 12 of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. To date, only a few studies have been undertaken to examine what the Australian government, states and territories are doing in regard to educating young Australians about CC. In particular, there is a scarcity of research that examines the three critical aspects of CC education: the curriculum, the teaching of CC, and the learning of CC. This study examines CC education within the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) study designs; and, its implementation within a Victorian upper-secondary school. Specifically, the study examines in which VCE subjects CC is taught, its conceptualisation and integration within the subjects. In regard to implementation, the study examines the perspectives of teachers who teach CC in Years 11 and 12, and their students, with particular attention given to the implemented curriculum and the attained curriculum. Specifically, the following research questions were put forward: (1) How is CC represented in the study design for years 11-12 in the VCE curriculum, and how is it conceptualised? (2) How is CC education conceptualised and implemented in years 11-12 from the teachers’ perspectives? And, (3) How is CC education conceptualised by Years 11 and 12 students studying the topic? A qualitative methodological approach is applied to data selection and analysis. Data sources for addressing the first question consists of the study designs constituting the VCE curriculum. Keywords were developed and applied for identifying study designs in which CC is present. These were further analysed thematically. Data sources for addressing Questions 2-3 consist of semi-structured interviews with teachers and students at the selected Victorian school. Thematic analysis is applied for examining CC conceptualisation. The results indicate that CC education is present in only ten subjects out of the 96 VCE study designs. CC education in the various study designs appears in silos. Within these silos, the content knowledge is fragmented and de-contextualised from the comprehensive aspects that make up CC. The incomplete conceptualisation of CC by the curriculum also extends to teachers and students. The teachers in this study do not seem to have formal structural support for teaching CC. Additionally, the curriculum is not prescriptive enough in relation to CC, and there are no professional development or teamwork opportunities at the school that could potentially support teachers. The students in this study are eager to learn more and much of their knowledge about CC is derived from the media rather than from school, suggesting that schools are failing to equip students with appropriate CC knowledge. The study contributes applicable and translational information that may be used to improve CC education within Australian schools in general, and at the Victorian VCE level in particular. The critical deficits found in the conceptualisation of CC and integration within the curriculum should be of prime interest to policymakers, curriculum developers and educators. There is an acute need to provide teachers with appropriate CC pedagogical content knowledge and support in teaching CC at the school level.

This chapter focuses on university reform in Victorian Britain. Change was imposed on the universities of Victorian Britain by outside forces, but it was also the outcome of a struggle within the universities. This struggle was most intense and consequential for the universities in Oxford and Cambridge, owing to their uniquely close connection with established structures of power and privilege in religion, politics, and society. One of the more strident of those who opposed reform was Alexander James Beresford Hope, MP for Cambridge University from 1868 to 1887. The chapter then investigates the universities' connection with the Church, focusing on religious tests, clerical personnel, and theological instruction. It also considers disagreements about other areas of reform: endowments, fellowships, and headships; the independence of colleges; curriculum, teaching, ‘research’, and examinations; administrative and financial issues; and accessibility and the composition of the student body.

This chapter examines representations of identity formation in boys through acts of reading and particularly through acts of learning to grapple with the Latin language. This relationship between manhood and reading is evidenced in both the content and the semantic structures of schoolboy fiction. For Tom Brown, Eric, and Stalky—each of whom attend a different calibre or type of Victorian school—Latin is both the process through which boys become men and the designator of that manliness, with senior male figures like Thomas Arnold often being constructed as Caesar-like figures at the top of an ascending scale of maturity and seniority. Rome is often presented as both the maker and the marker of elite Victorian manliness in both its physical and intellectual varieties. Yet this chapter is also interested in changes and challenges to the classical curriculum in the nineteenth century as competing styles of masculinity emerged in the form of the captains of industry and science.

The Australian Catholic University (ACU National at www.acu.edu.au) is a public university funded by the Australian Government. There are six campuses across the country, located in Brisbane, Queensland; North Sydney, New South Wales; Strathfield, New South Wales; Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT); Ballarat, Victoria; and Melbourne, Victoria. The university serves a total of approximately 27,000 students, including both full- and part-time students, and those enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Through fostering and advancing knowledge in education, health, commerce, the humanities, science and technology, and the creative arts, ACU National seeks to make specific and targeted contributions to its local, national, and international communities. The university explicitly engages the social, ethical, and religious dimensions of the questions it faces in teaching, research, and service. In its endeavors, it is guided by a fundamental concern for social justice, equity, and inclusivity. The university is open to all, irrespective of religious belief or background. ACU National opened its doors in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia. The institutions that merged to form the university had their origins in the mid-17th century when religious orders and institutes became involved in the preparation of teachers for Catholic schools and, later, nurses for Catholic hospitals. As a result of a series of amalgamations, relocations, transfers of responsibilities, and diocesan initiatives, more than twenty historical entities have contributed to the creation of ACU National. Today, ACU National operates within a rapidly changing educational and industrial context. Student numbers are increasing, areas of teaching and learning have changed and expanded, e-learning plays an important role, and there is greater emphasis on research. In its 2005–2009 Strategic Plan, the university commits to the adoption of quality teaching, an internationalized curriculum, as well as the cultivation of generic skills in students, to meet the challenges of the dynamic university and information environment (ACU National, 2008). The Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) Program at ACU Canberra Situated in Australia’s capital city, the Canberra campus is one of the smallest campuses of ACU National, where there are approximately 800 undergraduate and 200 postgraduate students studying to be primary or secondary school teachers through the School of Education (ACT). Other programs offered at this campus include nursing, theology, social work, arts, and religious education. A new model of pre-service secondary teacher education commenced with the introduction of the Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) program at this campus in 2005. It marked an innovative collaboration between the university and a cohort of experienced secondary school teachers in the ACT and its surrounding region. This partnership was forged to allow student teachers undertaking the program to be inducted into the teaching profession with the cooperation of leading practitioners from schools in and around the ACT. In the preparation of novices for the teaching profession, an enduring challenge is to create learning experiences capable of transforming practice, and to instill in the novices an array of professional skills, attributes, and competencies (Putnam & Borko, 2000). Another dimension of the beginning teacher experience is the need to bridge theory and practice, and to apply pedagogical content knowledge in real-life classroom practice. During the one-year Graduate Diploma program, the student teachers undertake two four-week block practicum placements, during which they have the opportunity to observe exemplary lessons, as well as to commence teaching. The goals of the practicum include improving participants’ access to innovative pedagogy and educational theory, helping them situate their own prior knowledge regarding pedagogy, and assisting them in reflecting on and evaluating their own practice. Each student teacher is paired with a more experienced teacher based at the school where he/she is placed, who serves as a supervisor and mentor. In 2007, a new dimension to the teaching practicum was added to facilitate online peer mentoring among the pre-service teachers at the Canberra campus of ACU National, and provide them with opportunities to reflect on teaching prior to entering full-time employment at a school. The creation of an online community to facilitate this mentorship and professional development process forms the context for the present case study. While on their practicum, students used social software in the form of collaborative web logging (blogging) and threaded voice discussion tools that were integrated into the university’s course management system (CMS), to share and reflect on their experiences, identify critical incidents, and invite comment on their responses and reactions from peers.

Higher Education Institutions are under increasing pressure to produce competent and qualified graduates for the ever-changing labour market. However, this is no easy feat. This paper shows how a transformational change in Victoria University’s teaching model created an opportunity for teachers to redesign first-year, employability-related curricula. The approach to this challenge focuses on the development of a career mindset in first year university students. Through the examination of two courses, one from the Bachelor of Arts and one from the Bachelor of Psychological Studies, this paper demonstrates a number of active learning and engagement strategies that can be incorporated into the classroom to empower first year students to develop a career mindset that can help them to develop and integrate employability related skills throughout their degrees and beyond.